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TE L-BRARY 07 CCKIESS Legilative Refoetaio Servioe PAMPHLET FILE I

FICOF REUNITED STATES POSTAL .VICE

Prepared at the request of Honorable Wayne Horse

by

Esther J. Dudgeon Analyst in Transportation and Couuu'xiations Economics Division 1 June 7, 1957 1 Rerun October.11, 1963 LIBRARY UVERSITY OiCALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA AR 1970

GOVT. PU1LICAIN DEPT. JISTCMY OF THE UNITED STAT

In a sense, the United States postal service can be said to have

had its beginning with the decree of the General Court of Massachusetts in 1639, that-

It is ordered -that ;notVs be given that. Richard Fairbanks, his house in Boston is the place appointed for all letters which are brought from beyond the seas or are to be sent thither to be left with him, and he is to take care that they are to be delivered or sent according to the directions; and he is allowed for every letter a penny, and must answer all mis-carriage. through his own negligence in this kind. Before this date the American colonists depended upon the good offices of master of ships, Indians, travelers, special private messengers, or

courtesy of the Virginia planters. Letters from overseas were left by sea captains at a reputable tavern or ooffee-house to be called for by addressees, the house of Fairbanks being the first place designated for purposes of collecting and receiving mail.

In 1657 the Virginia Assembly required that all letters 'superw- scribed for the service of His Majesty or publique shall be isnediately conveyed from plantation to plantation to the place and person they are directed to under penalty of one hogshead of tobacco for each default."

About the same time the Dutch at New Amsterdam took wsures to prevent private sending or receiving of "ship letters.

H I -2-

The first postal service designed for intercolonial commnication

was a decree of Governor Lovelace of New York in 1672, which ordered

that a post should "goe i thy. botaren New York and Boston." This was the first officially established post route in America. A.

was appointed by the -governor and. an annual salary fixed for his

services. This pioneer postman was obliged to travel through trackless forests and part of his duty was to mark the trees for travelerswho

might wish to follow his route.*The routeblased by this miil courier

has long been -known as the Boston:.PostRoad and is now part of U. S.

highway Route 1. - A noteworthy feature of this postal service'and a source of much pride to the governor, was the "closed pouch" handling

of ail, which -is an important principle of modern'postal service. -

Shortly af-ter i the establishment of the service the Dutch- captured -Ntw

York and -the Boston-New York post had to be discontinued.

The first successful postal system to be established in' any of the colonies was that of William Penn. In 1683 he started service 'between

Philadelphia and "New Castle or the Falls of the Delawar'e". Attempts.

.were made by.- several of the colonies to. establish postal service during

this- period, without notable. success. But, during this asme -year a post route was, established from Maine to Georgia.

A start toward establishing a general service-os throughout all the English colonies was made in -1691, when Willisna-ad Mary granted a patent to Thomas Neale. (then Master of the Mint) -giving -hin full power

and authority to establish an inter-colonial postal service between all -3 - the colonies and to establish offices in the chief places. The letters patent were granted for a term of 21 years. Neale appointed an Edin-. burgh merchant, Andrew Hamilton, as General for America.

He was the first officer of any rank appointed to serve all the British possessions in America without reference to separate colonies, and for this reason he had a difficult task. He was well liked by colonial leaders and possessed an unusual degree of executive ability. His efforts culminated in passage, by practically all the colonial assemblies, of postal acts sufficiently identical in their terms so that. a united system of posts could be established in America. In 1693, Hamilton's

Intercolonial Postal Union commenced weekly service between Portsmouth,

N. H., and Virginia. Salaries paid employees were liberal and rates of postage were high, though they were not then regarded as excessive. In

1698 Hamilton, in partnership with a Mr. West, .took over the ownership of the American posts. The service then was as complete and satisfactory as any. in Europe and the postage rates, though prescribed separately by the legislatures of each colony, were in effect uniform.

When the. Intercolonial Postal Union started in 1693, every post road had to be made through a wilderness, but by 1698, when Hamilton became owner ofsthe -service, 'these post roads had become routes of accustomed travel for all and could be traversed with imch less difficulty by post riders. Andrew Hamilton, recognized by history as the first Postmaster General of America, died in 1703 and was succeeded by his son, John Hamilton, who operated the system until 1707, when the British Government took over the colonial postal service, paying. Hamilton an idemnity of 51,664.

"1 -4-o

John Hamilton was retained as Postmaster General by the Crown at a salary of 200 annually. 'Surplus revenues derived from parts of the system were applied to improvement and extension of other less rema- nerative routes, leading eventually to his removal in 1721 by the British

3postmasteru-general" and the appointment in his stead of John Lloyd of

Charleston, S. C. Lloyd promoted the mail-packet service from Falmouth, England, to Charleston and New York, and to the West Indies. Alexander

Spotswood succeeded Lloyd in 1730. 'Under Postmaster General Spotswood, in 1737, Benjamin Franklin was appointed postmaster at Philadelphia and later as "comptroller in regula- ting several offices and bringing officers to account." Thus it appears that Franklin was the first inspector.

The Act of 1710 of Queen Anne established a general post office for all the British Empire, under the direction of the Postmaster General who appointed duputies -for the different colonies. New York was ide thk head office for North America. Postage rates thereafter were no longer set by the colonial' legislatures. An 'increase of 33-1/3% in rates left a deficit as large as in Neale's time. After 1753 the American colonies were divided into Northern and Southern districts for postal purposes, the southern office being at Charleston, S. C. and the northern office established under two General, one of whom was Benjamin

Franklin, who had been postmaster of Philadelphia.

When Franklin and Hunter were appointed as postmasters general they were to receive payment for their services only if they could make it out of profits, and then to the amount of 5600 annually. The first -5-

four years they lost more than $30,000 but eventually their policy of

extending service and instituting improvements was justified. During

the second four years of Franklin's administration there was a not

surplus of S1,439, or a not surplus for the entire 8 year period of nearly 500. The surplus was sent to England - the first surplus from the colonial postal system to be remitted. Under the administration of Franklin, the Crown continued to enjoy surplus receipts from the colonial postal service; for example, the amounts of 1,859 in 1768-69 and 3,000 for 1773-74 are recorded. Because of his sympathies with, the colonies, Franklin was removed from his post by the English authorities in 1774, an event which was fuel to the rising fire of rebellion culminating in the fight for independence of the American colonies.

The post office played an important part in the American Revolution, which is sumarized briefly. The postal system proved the best means for exchanging news, information and official Government intelligence.

Thus it was an important instrument in uniting the colonies, establishing common goals, and coordinating and concentrating activities for accom- plishing .common purposes. An important factor in the influence of the post office on the coming Revolution was the antagonism generated by the sending of surplus funds earned by the post office to the King, strength- ened by the dismissal of Franklin as Postmaster General - an action regarded as seizure of the postal system by the oppressors of the colonists.

Franklin's dismissal and the ensuing attempt of the postal officials to,* censor all communications, and the exorbitant fees demanded for carrying -6 -

colonial newspapers brought a newspaper publisher, William Goddard, to

work toward setting up an "American postoffice". He refused to pay the

fees demanded by the existing post office and hired his own postriders

to carry his mail from Baltimore to Philadelphia, meanwhile urging all

the colonists to join him in establishing a' post office which would be

free of "spying" by officials of the Crown.

The great need for secrecy of the means of communication between

the "patriot" organizations speeded the coming of the second postal

system, set up mainly to handle official mail and correspondence of

patriot groups and newspapers. As early as 1773 there were some of

these independent post offices and routes operated by individuals. It

is reported that the famous April 18, 1775 ride .of Paul Revere was made

in performance of his duties as special rider for, the post office in

Massachusetts.

In July of 1775 the Continental Congress established a Constitu-

tional Post Office with Franklin as Postmaster General. He was directed to establish a line of posts from Massachusetts to Georgia, with cross posts as he might deem necessary. The franking privilege was extended to members of the Congress and to Army Officers, a privilege held by the

Postmasters under the Crown postal service. There were thus two postal systems operating in the colonies at the start of the Revolution, the

Royal Post which had been established by England, sometimes referred to as the "Parliamentary" post, and the Constitutional Post established by the Continental Congress. Headquarters of the Constitutional post office were in Philadelphia. The Postmaster General was to receive a .. 7-

salary c' $1,000 per annum and a Comptroller $340 per annum. This post

office was often referred to as the "Revolutionary Post Office." The

English postal system in the ,colonies concede defeat and its service

was retired in December 1775.

The Articles of Confederation contained a clause authorizing the

establishment of a Federal Post Office. In 1782 the Congress passed

an act, under this authority, for the purpose of establishing a complete

interstate postal system. Only onq thing was lacking to accomplish the

ends sought - sufficient authority in the Federal government to give

force and effect to its provisions. This lack of central authority was

remedied by provisions of the Constitution of the United States in 1789.

Under the Constitution of the United States the Congress has power

to establish post offices and post roads. The Federal government was

given a monopoly of the business of carrying the "letters and packets"

considered post office business from early times. Early legislation prohibited private posts, both for letters and packets. In 1792 legis- lation enacted ten years previous was reenacted under the Contitution and this statute continued, without material change, to control the

United States Post Office until 1845. Continuance of the postal services and conditions under the Continental Congress was authorized in 1789 and

President Washington appointed Samuel Osgood, of Massachusetts, as the first Postmaster General under the Constitution. Postmaster General

Osgood was not a member of the President's Cabinet and his reports were submitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. The -8- postal service remained a part of the Treasury Department until 1829, when the Postmaster General became a member of President Jackson's

Cabinet, by invitation of the President.

Among other things, early legislation declared the secrecy and inviolability of mail matter, prescribed postal rates expressed in the money of the Federal Government, and required employees to take an oath of office. Newspapers were admitted to the mails and editors given the frank for their exchanges so there would be no limitation on free inter- change of communication between different states and localities.

In 1790 there were 75 post offices throughout the country connected by 1,875 miles of post roads. The area of the United States was about

500,000 square miles and the population nearly 4 million. For the year,

266,000 letters were handled and total receipts amounted to $37,935, of which $5,795 was surplus. During Washington's administration the number of post offices and the miles of post roads and the, amount of revenue increased more than five times.

By 1829, there were 8,050 post offices and 115,000 miles of post roads to serve a population of 12 million. The Post Office Department handled nearly 14 million letters during the year. Service was still slow; the only means of transportation available.were horseback, stagecoach, ships and boats, and in some regions mail was carried on foot.

By 1837, almost every reform possible under existing conditions had been put into effect, including reorganization of the Post Office Depart- ment in 1836 and the beginnings of an adequate accounting system. Stage- coaches were still the principal means of transporting the mails though s-9-

& large part of the service was by means of post riders and sulkies. The zone system of postage was still in effect and high postage rates

were essentially the same as 100 years before when Franklin had been

postmaster in Philadelphia. Envelopes were entirely unknown and a

letter on two sheets of paper was charged double rates. Postage

stamps were still to come and postage was paid in cash, generally by

the addressee. A number of movements bqgun in the 1830's revolutionized the postal conditions in the country. Mail was first carried by a steam railway in 1834, although legislation making all railroads post routes was not passed until 1838. An Act of 1810 described the postal service as the Post Office Establishment. It was definitely titled the

Post Office Department in legislation or8Z5--bt-was not ranked as an executive department until revision of the statutes in 1874. The

modern Post Office Department originated in 1836, when Congress passed a law providing for a "business-like" organization of the postal service. Among other things it provided that thereafter all revenues of the depart- ment were to be accounted for to the Treasurer of the United States as

part .of the general revenues of the government, rather than remaining

__available for expenditures at the discretion of the Postmaster General. Theretofore the department had been responsible for handling its own revenues and paying its own bills., The Act also provided that postal appropriations should be made directly by Congress upon estimates furnished by the.Postmaster General., The office of Auditor for the Post Office Department was created and the Postmaster General .no longer was given the power of appointment of postsksters. - 10 -

In the ten years following Jackson's administration a new system

of cheap uniform postage and rapid transportation was built up to attempt

to keep up with the postal capacity required by the rapidly developing nation. The traveling post office appeared in 1840. By 1851 mail was being transported on 10,000 miles of railroads. But the postal officials were not satisfied with the speed of early railroad service. Trains

operated only during the daylight hours and mail was consequently delayed.

The Post Office insisted that trains carrying. mail continue on at night.

Franklin had established precedent for such action in his reforms of the

colonial service during the 1750's when he ordered night movements of

the mails. Thus the post office, seeking to improve its own service, was

responsible for an important development in railroad operations.

Population of. the country was moving westward and mail service

followed the frontiers. In 1833 anew "Post Master" was appointed in

New Salem, Illinois - Abraham Lincoln. The post office was located in a store owned jointly by Lincoln and his partner, Berry. Lincoln is said to have carried the letters around in his hat, delivering them as he had an opportunity. Occasionally deliveries took him into the country- a sort of rural free delivery service on a very irregular basis.

The first legislation of the modern U. S. postal system was approved by President Tyler on March 3, 1845. This law limited the franking privilege and provided postage rates for letters not over one-half ounce in weight at 5 cents for distances up to 300 miles and 10 cents for distances exceeding 300 miles. Single letters were defined as those weighing not more than one-half ounce. The law also contained a provision - 11 -

:Trom which the modern star route service takes its origin. In effect, th Fostmaster General was empowered to award contracts for the trans- pcrtition of mail "to the lowest bidder, tendering sufficient guarantees fkor the performance, without other reference to the mode of transporta- tion than may be necessary to provide for the due celerity, certainty, and security of such transportation." It became the practice to indicate !-ids for service providing "due celerity, certainty, and security'' by means of three stars or asterisks, and eventually the contract service 2or transporting the mail by all modes, except boats and railways, came to be known as "star" route service. This same law of 1845 classified 1tea.-nboat and railroad routes and limited maximum rates of compensation for each of the three classifications of service. "Star Routes" have

continued to be an important part of the postal service, the longest such route reported as 650 miles, between points in Alaska.

From April 1, 1844 to March 4, 1845 the telegraph system was a part (1 lie postal service and the inventor of the telegraph, Morse, was Superintendent of this branch of the postal service.

PostAge stamps appeared in occasional use in the United States shortly after their adoption in England in 1840. They were printed by private delivery companies and postmasters and sold to patrons to indicate prepayment of postage or local delivery charges. The use of .-. e * hesive was authorized by Congress in the Act of 1847. Stamps were to be issued by the Postmaster General and were first placed on sale in New York on July 1, 1847. Though adhesive stamps were available in 1847, their use in prepayment of postage was not made - 12 -

obligatory until January 1, 1856. But prepayment of postage was made

compulsory in 1855. During the intervening period postage was collected

by both methods - stamps and money. inth Post Office

Establishment was given exclusive rights to carry letters and packets

and penalties provided for violation of this monopoly by private interests, Envelopes were coming into common usage about this time and pre-

payment of postage was established practice. The Post Office Department

was authorized to have stamped envelopes manufactured and the first were

issued in June 1853. Envelopes bearing the purchaser's return card were authorized by law in 1865. During the year 1955 over 2 billion were

issued, having a sale value of more than $80 million.

The legislation of 1845 and 1847 contained the first germ of the

foreign mail service. The Postmaster General was authorized to enter

into negotiations with the postal administrations of other countries for

the purpose of arranging for the exchange of mails. The first treaty was

concluded in 1847, with the Hanseatic Republic of Bremen. Two years later

a formal treaty covering post relations with Great Britain was concluded

and in 1850 a "foreign desk* was established in the Post Office Department,

-with Horatio King (later to become Postmaster General) in charge. This

desk later became the very iportant Division of Foreign Mails, an indepen-

dent bureau of the Post Office Department.' The efforts of Mr. King were

largely responsible for satisfactory postal conventions made with Prussia,

France, Belgium, and Canada, and securing important reductions in postage

and simplifying handling of foreign mails. - 13 -

In 1851 the postage rate on domestic mail was reduced to 3 cents

for single letters going not more than 3,000 miles, removing practically

all the distance factor in postage rates. The distance factor in postage

rate making was not entirely removed until 1863. The early reduction,

together with the increasing transportation costs and volume of news-

papers carried at lesa than cost, began an era of postal deficits. From

this time public service rather than revenue considerations was to be

the guiding force of the postal system, with the exception of the policies

of a few Postmasters General. The law of 1851 also increased the allowance to the.Department for the franking privilege and for carrying

Government mail... .A one-cent rate of postage was also specified for all local or drop 3 letters.

Registry service was established in July 1855 and the registration fee was set at 5 cents. The purpose of registering mail was to provide a means-for tracing missing mail and fixing responsibility in case of loss. At the time there was considerable argument that registry merely served to identify mail as being valuable without providing any additional safeguard.

The first street letter-box for collecting purposes was put up in

New York City, but the local collection and delivery of mail was still handled by private carriers. Letter carriers in larger were paid one and two cents for each letter delivered. Beginning in 1863 the free delivery of mail in cities was undertaken. City delivery routes totaled 87,979, in 1956.- - 14 -

Modificaton of the distance factor in postage rates in 1853 was a raator in establishing mail routes to the Pacific Coast which helped speed the settlement of the West. The Pony Express, wnile it lasted

Lor only about 18 months, was an important adjunct of tne postal system.

The first run of the Pony Express left St. Joseph, Missouri, the ea_.t'3rrn terminus, on April 3, 1860. The mail carried was delivered ten days later in San Francisco, California, taking but half the usual time for Lraveling tne distance. The route was nearly 2,000 miles long an-! ,-ched Salt Lake City, Carson City, and Sacramento. The service reqUire- 190 stations for relay riders and providing of.fresh horses.

Stations were generally about 15 miles apart. Eighty riders rode the more than 400 horses (the best that could be found) over the route.

We-kly service was at first provided but two trips a week were regularly

!.!I. 'he Pony Express was a private venture, backed by the funds of

Privtf individuals, and was extremely popular among the early settlers.

Al! carried.ai. the proper United States postage and paid in addition thz: Pony Express charges. During the hazardous operation of this service oncy onc relatively unimportant mail was lost and the original time of

:0n Yours wds often shortened, the record run being the delivery of

.r7.oln's t'irst inaugural address delivered in 7 days and 17 hours.

Tw factors combined to bring an early end to the Pony Express venture.

7 cost of operating the service was high and made more so by the fact t'iht the company had to finance a major Indian War in the interests of protecting their relay stations and riders. At the same time revenue was cut by the requirEments of an Act of Congress in connection with contracts - 15 -

t carry the mails overland which designated the route as a post route,

requiring. that 5 pounds of government mail should be carried on each

trip Oree and charges on other mail be reduced from $5 per half-ounce

to 11. Secondly, the transcontinental telegraph system was completed

in 2861, decreasing the use of the Pony Express for rapid communications.

Trying the time it functioned the Pony Express served a vital function -

pstablishment of more rapid commication between' the people of the East

and' those-of the West.

For some years there had been agitation for the establishment of

11system to free the mails from "money" letters, which provoked theft and

roobery. In 1864 the post office money order system was established,

"esigned for the special accommodation of soldiers who desired to send

.omey to their homes. Rates were set at 10 cents for orders up to $20

artd 25 cents up to $30, the maximum which could be' sent by law. New York

wa-the'exchange office to which'remittance of money order funds was made

upon which postmasters drew to pay demands in excess of local money order

receipts. The 138 offices providing this service in 1864 grew to 1,200'

in. 1368. - Rates have 'since been changed and limits raised on individual

norey orders which can be purchased. The service continuedessentially

tVe same until July 2, 1951 when the Post Office Department instituted the

vse of punched cards in place of the old forms of money orders. These new

roney orders can be 'cashed at any post office, rather than only at the

designated post office of the payee as heretofore, or collected' through a

;innk in the same manner as checks can be deposited or cashed.

'4 - 16 -

Following the efforts of earlier postmasters in establishing foreign mails, Postmaster General Blair was instrumental in bringing about the first International Postal Convention, which met in Paris in May 1863. A study made by this convention of representatives of

12 European and 3 American nations laid the foundation fbr the Inter- national Postal Union. In 1867, by agreement with a number of nations, the international money order service was added to the domfistic system, and approved by Act of Congress in 1868. A system of tele- graphic money order service was inaugurated in September 1889.

Until 1861 all mail carried on trairswas distributed in post offices.

When the Pony Express was inaugurated, the mail destined for the first rider was being sent to St. Joseph by. rail. In order to try to minimize delay in getting the mail- started on its way with. the rider, a postal employee boarded the train at Hannibal and sorted the mail enroute to

St. Joseph. In.1861 the post master at St. Joseph tried out sorting mail on moving trains by "route agents" between Hannibal and St. Joseph in further attempt to avoid delay in departures of mail going west. The experiment was successful and led to the first officially sponsored test of a railway post office car in 1862. The first railway postal route in operation was the Iowa Division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad from Chicago to Clinton, Iowa, started August 28, 1864. The first full railway post office cars were built by this railroad in 1867 following plans of George B. Armstrong, who later became Superintendent of the

.ilway Mail Servite. The same year service was started on the New York

&n Washington, the Penn Central, the Chicago and Rock Island, and the - 17 -

Nc*w York and Erie roads. The first fast mail trekin was 'started in 1875.

It was a project of Colonel George S. Bangs, General Superintendent of

the Railway Mail Service at that time, who had worked for some time on

the idea of having mail transported by exclusive mail trains timed as to

departures to suit the needs of the Post Office Department. William H.

Vanderbilt, of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad cooperated

to put the plan into operation September 16, 1875. On the same date a

similar train ran on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Thus there was provided

double service between New York and Chicago. The experiment was successful

and more such trains were advocated. The continuance of 'this service was

blocked by passage of an Act by Congress of July 2, 1876, reducing the

compensation to trunk lines for carrying the mail by 10%. Compensation

then paid was inadequate to cover the service. The officials of the rail-

roads promptly notified the Postmaster General that the service would be

withdrawn. Discontinuance of this fas m-11-wervice brought much unfavor-

able comment from the public and in the following year (1877) Congress

appropriated funds for special facilities which enabled the post office

department to restore the fast mail trains. There had been a Deputy in

-- charge of the railway post offices and railway mails since December 1864.

An act of 1872 authorized the manufacture of postal cards by the

post office department for the purpose of facilitating "letter correspon-

dence at a reduced rate". The first postal cards were authorized by the department in May 1873. By 1955 approximately 7,000 tons of paper were

consumed in printing the yearly supply of over 2j billion postal cards

required for issuance to the postal service. - 18 -

Special delivery service was established in 1885 to furnish prompt delivery of letters. It was widely used from its inception, handling a million letters a year in the beginning. In 1886 Congress enacted

legislation providing for special delivery service on all classes of mail.

Extension of free delivery to rural areas had been discussed from.

time to time but the first official suggestion that this service be

started came from Postmaster General Wanamaker in his annual report for

the fiscal year 1891. The first bill authorizing this service was

introduced in the House of Representatives by Hon. James O'Donnell of

Michigan, on January 5, 1892, carrying 4n appropriation of $6 million.

It failed of enactment. A bill proposed by by Hon. Thomas E. Watson,

of Georgia, became law on March 3, 1893, appropriating $10,000 for

experimental rural delivery. Together with the sum of $20,000 appro-

priated July 16, 1894, this combined amount was not considered sufficient

for introduction of the experimental service and was not immediately

used. On June 9, 1896, another $10,000 was appropriated, making a total

of $40,000 available. The first experimental rural free delivery service

" was established from Charles Town, Uvilla and Halltown, W. Va., effective

October 1, 1896. Three routes were established at Charles Town, each

about 18 miles in length. One route twelve 'miles in length was established

at Halltown, and one at Uvilla, twenty miles long. Each of the five

carriers was paid a salary of $200 per annum. During the first week 214

letters, 290 papers, 33 postal cards and 2 packages were delivered and 18

letters and.2 packages dispatched from the routes. Nine months from - 19 -

establishment of the first rural free delivery route, the service had

grown to 82 routes, operated from 43 post offices in 29 different states.

The first complete county rural service was established December 20,

1899, in Carroll County, Maryland. By June 30, 1953, road maps showing all rural delivery service in a county had been prepared for 1623 of-

the 3070 counties in the United States.

Rural free delivery service has grown and changed with the passing years to meet the economic growth and population changes of the country

so that nearly every rural family now has free postal delivery service.

A consolidation of routes was made possible by the use of motor vehicles in rural delivery service about 1916. Then, because of the establish- ment of new service the number of routes increased until May 1926 when

the maximum of 45,332 routes were in operation. Since then consolidations have somewhat decreased the total number of routes. As of June 30, 1956, rural free delivery routes numbered 31,888, the total length of the routes being 1,574,193 miles, traveled daily by carriers. Carriers traveled 480,138,865 miles annually over these routes. Extensions of routes during the year 1956 added service to 115,555 families. Approximately 35 million people are served by the rural routes.

Residents of small towns and villages claimed equal privilege of free delivery with those in large .cities and rural areas. However, .little attention was given this problem until 1912, when village delivery was established. Only communities where the annual post office receipts amounted to $5,000 were entitled to this service. In 1889 Postmaster

General Wanamaker recommended and inaugurated a service he called "village - 20 -

delivery" which was an extension of city delivery service by carriers in

towns with a population of less than 10,000 or with gross postal receipts

less than $10,000. After a two year experiment, this service was 'dis-

continued by Congress.

Two services also recommended in his reports and strongly advocated

by -)stmaster General Wanamaker were a postal savings system and a parcel

post service. For many years there was discussion as to the advisability

of establishing a postal savings system, though public demand for such

a service was increasing. Economistsiid'oTfdTats-of the Post Office

Department advocated its establishment as a banking advantage for remote

and backward communities, and a method of "inducing many foreign-born who

were distrustful of banks" to deposit funds held in private hoards, they

being accustomed to postal savings in their former home countries. It

was felt also that money would be brought back into circulation through

post offices in times of panic when money was withdrawn from banks. On

the other hand, objections were voiced by some on the ground that the

measure was "socialistic", that local funds should not be diverted to the

national treasury away from the region where the money was saved, and

-that the country had enough savings facilities, and the postal savings

system would be detrimental to private banks. The panic of 1907 and the consequent loss of confidence in private banks resulted in renewed advocacy

of a postal savings system. The United States was the last of the civi-

lized countries to establish a postal savings system and fLinally, being

pressed by the public, the Post Office and the Chief Executive, Congress - 21 passed legislation in 1910 which became law In 1911 and established the postal savings system. From 1873 to 1910 eighty measures relative to the subject were introduced in Congress.

The law expressly provided that the postal savings system was not to be -competitive with the existing banks. To insure that there would be no competition, limits were set on the total amount which could be deposited by any individual, as well as the total amount which could be held in a postal savings account to the credit of an individual. The limit of $500 placed a burden on the system as most of the deposits at first came out of hoards and from persons who were not depositors at a regular bank; because. of the limitation many millions of dollars were estimated to have been turned away. The Postaster General stated that

"more money nas been refused by the postal savings system than has been accepted." The first director of the system stated that "sums as large as $25,000 have been brought to us ,n old tea kettles, stockings, and what not also in the way of quser receptacles, and when we had to refuse to receive more than $500 it went back into the nooks and corners, cellars,. and underground, where it came from." The restricted volume of business resulted in the system operating at a loss for the first two years. In 1916 legislation lifted the limit to $1,000 for interest bearing deposits and provided that additional deposits might be accepted

"not to exceed in the aggregate $1,000 for each depositor, but upon which no interest shall be paid." Another provision to obviate com- petition with private banks was the rate of interest set to be paid on postal savings deposits. The rate was set at 2% per annum credited to - 22 - depositors once a year, computed as the Board of Trustees might pre- scribe, interest not to be computed or allowed on fractions of 4 dollar. Compound interest was not to be allowed, though a depositor could withdraw interest payable and make a new deposit. Interest on an unsurrendered postal savings certificate was not to become payable until one year from the interest date. In view of the limitations on maximum deposits, the low interest rate, the ruling against compound interest, and little or no sustained and consistent effort to advertise the service, the failure of the service to function as contemplated by its proponents is understandable. Investment of postal savings fundsivas limited by stringent regulations. Later the system was put under the Postmaster General and a Division of Postal Savings created in the Post Office Department. The Postal Savings System became the greatest savings institution in the world in the 1930's. Herbert Hoover advocated liberalizing of the laws governing the system and advocated that "the whole method of paying interest be changed so as to approxi- mately distribute the profits to the depositors." That the postal savings system stands alone among the conveniences of the public service in giving only a fractional part of its potential service to the public, is an opinion which has been voiced by many. Failure to liberalize regulations governing the postal savings system no doubt contributed to and still contributes to the declining importance of the system, as evidenced by the decreasing number of depositors and rate of savings balances. Even so, at the end of fiscal year 1956, the postal savings system had approximately 2.5 million depositors, with deposit balances totaling approximately $1.8 billion. -23

Very early in postal history provision was made for carrying

"packets" in the mail. Limitations on weight and high charges pro- vented the use of the Post Office as a parcel service for generations.

Postmaster General Wickliffe protested in the 1840's that private express companies then being organized were cheating the government out of its revenue in the same fashion as smugglers. He called them worse than smugglers for "in the one case the honest importer is defrauded; in the other, he who faithfully pays his postage is injured, the

DepartmentAdeprived of its revenues and is unable to extend its useful operations with the growing wants of the community." Congress forbade private express companies to transport mail matter and in -1872 provided that "no private expresses shall be established for the conveyance of letters or packets over any post route."

Postmaster General Wanamaker summed up the situation in his "one hundred reasons for parcels-post service" on a large scale, and only

"four strong objections" against it, they being the four express com- panies. Early Congresses held that the Federal government was given exclusive rights under the Constitution to operate all functions of a postal service, including carrying "packets" or packages. Opposition from the private express companies and the fact that the United States was a country of vast distances and rather sparse population combined to delay establishment of the service known as parcel post. The third class miscellaneous mail matter created in 1863 was virtually a limited parcels post. - 24 -

Establishment of the rural free delivery service gave impetus to the movement for a parcels post service. It was in the interests of rural patrons of the post office who desired this service that the first proposals were made for local parcel post delivery. A large number of people were not even located within reasonable distance from a city where there was a private express or parcels delivery company, which were established only -in the large cities where density of populations and limited distances made the service more profitable.

The Postmaster General favored a gradual introduction of the service, starting on rural routes and in cities and towns having delivery by carrier,- and then extending to include railway and other transportation. lines.. Influenced by the experience in Australia, where distances are great and population even more sparse than the Unated States, the sub-committee members 'decided the service should be introduced. as a* complete system.: The local merchants in many cases objected to parcel post because they feared the loss of patronage to mail order houses.

Finally in 1913 the domestic parcel post system was established. Limita- tions of size and weight of parcels which may be sent through the posts have, according to some people, resulted in the loss of the most profitable parcel business to private express companies. Zones were set up and rates set for each zone for carrying parcels. The zones are permanently established but the rates are subject to change from time to time, asare the size and weight limits. An early result of the service was a large increase in the exchange of farm products and goods - 25 -

between rural and urban areas. Parcel post has contributed much to

the economic and cultural advancement of the country over the years.

During fiscal year 1956, 1,173,249 pieces of fourth class mal (parcels) were handled by the postal system, weighing an aggregate of 4,904,067

pounds.

Because it was felt that registering of parcels would become an

undue burden on the registry system set up for letters, the law estab-

lishing the parcel post system also provided for insuring of parcels

against loss. Later the coverage was extended to protect against damage

as well as loss in transit through the mails. Fees are graduated

according to the value of the parcels insured.

C. 0. D. service was first made available to parcel post users in

July 1913. It was later extended to other classes of mail and to some

international posts.

One of the most dramatic of postal services is the air mail, begun

with the appropriation act of 1916 granting authority to establish the

service and the first experimental flight between Washington and New

York on May 15, 1918, using an obsolete military plane flown by an army

__pilot. The idea of sending mail through the air was not new at the time

when the service was started between New York and Washington. Carrier

pigeons had been used as transportation agents in ancient times, and

a balloon had been used in Europe. Senator Sam Houston of Texas, during

his service in the Senate from 1845 to 1861, introduced the first

resolution for an appropriation of funds and the appointment of a com-

mittee to investigate the possibility of air mail service. Even before - 26 -

this, back in' the stagecoach days of 1822, the Freeman's' Journal, published in Norristovn, Pa., editorially advised Postmaster General

McLean to avail himself "of the novel and ingenious flying machine invented, by James Benett, of Philadelphia, by which the mails would' be transported with more celerity." In 1911 Congress authorized contracts for carriage of mail by airplane where the cost did not exceed 'other means of transportation, and experimental service was conducted at Long Island""in September of that year. After August 18,

1918, the Post Office Department took over the operations of airmail service, The significance of this service was not noted by the public at the time, interest being centered on the fighting of American Troops in the neighborhood of Chateau-Thierry. 4The distance between Washington and New York was considered "too'short to permit of any saving of time," as reported bythePostmaster General, and the service was discontinued

XMay',3! )1921.

Tn,the meantime, a start was made looking toward transcontinental air mail.. .On May 15, 1919, service was inaugurated between Cleveland and.Chicago, 'second between New York and Cleveland on July 1, 1919, another -from Chicago to Omaha on May 15, 1920 and finally from Omaha to

San Francisco on September 8, 1920. In order to demonstrate the possi-

Qlities o air mail, arrangements were made for a through flight froma

Sa. Francisco. to New York on February 22, 1921. The actual elapsed time f or the'. flight was 33 hours and 21 minutes; actual flying time was

25 hours 16 minutes; average speed was 104 miles'per hour' over the

11stance of2,629 miles. -27-

There was a serious weakness in the early transcontinental air

mail service. The planes did not fly at night and mail was taken, for example, from San Francisco to Salt Lake City, or some other point,

and then given to the Railway Mail Service for the night, to be picked

up again by plane at a point further along the route next morning. The,

postal authorities were confronted with the same problem posed the

postal service on at least two other occasions in the past - delay of

the mail at night. Again the post office was the prime mover in

introducing night operations, this time in aviation, as it had before

in the field of railway transportation. The flight of February 22, 1921

demonstrated that night flying was practical. In preparation for this

demonstration of night flying radio stations were installed at practi-

cally all the fields and lighted airways were established between

Chicago and Cheyenne, and between New York City and Salt Lake City, to

guide the plotsa with a chain of intermittent lights mounted on steel posts.

The pioneering nature of the early air mail services in to United

States is evidenced by the receipt of the Collier Trophy by the Post

Office Department for the most important contribution to the development

of aeronautics through its safety record. The Department was awarded the

same trophy again in 1923 for demonstrating the feasibility of night flying.

In 1926 the Post Office Department decided to turn over the actual

transportation of air mail letters to private airlines. By August 31,

1927 all air mail was carried under contract by private airlines. Lind- bergb made his historic transatlantic flight from New Xork to Paris while

on leave from the air mail service. - 28 -

The first air mail from the United States to a foreign country was between 'Seattle, Washington, and Victoria, British Columbia, October 15,

1920. Regular air mail service to foreign countries was established

* in 1927. Trans-Pacific air mail was inaugurated in 1935 between San

Francisco and the Philippine Islands, and service extended to China

soon afterward. Trans-Atlantic service was established in 1939. All

the major airline routes are now post routes and in 1956 air cargo

carriers, as well as passenger planes, were authorized to carry the mail.

The newest phase of air mail transportation is the use of heli-

copters in metropolitan areas. Future years will record the progress

of this latest transportation medium, inaugurated in Los Angeles on

October 1, 1947. The 'city of Boston made some use of the helicopter

about this same time. The helicopters at Los Angeles are used to shuttle

mail from airport to downtown post office and from main post offices to

cities-and towns in the area surrounding the city on regularly scheduled

routes. A considerable saving of time results through by-passing the

heavily congested downtown traffic. Similar service was inaugurated in

the Chicago area August 20, 1949, and in the New York City area in

October 1952. Again the Post Office Department is pioneering in the

field of' transportation.

The Air Letter Sheet was introduced by the Post Office Department

on April 29, 1947. This is a government designed self-contained letter

on which messages can be written on the inside of the envelope. 140 of

these' messages weigh one pound.' The low cost of transportation per - 29 -

message enables them to be dispatched anywhere in the world for 10 cents, These letter forms were designed to speed service on brief

communications to foreign countries.

Foreign Air Parcel Post service began in Maroh 1948 to 23 foreign

countries, and has since been extended to countries in every part of

the world. Domestic Air Parcel Post services for the United States and its territories and possessions was begun in September 1948.. This

service was also made available to members of the armed forces and

civilians receiving mail through APO's.

A postal zoning system was inaugurated in 124 of the larger post offices in the U. S. in 1943, for the purpose of expediting delivery

of mail. The system also made for faster distribution and sorting of

the mail at the post offices, especially by inexperienced personnel.

The zoning system has been steadily extended since its inauguration.

There is now in progress an experiment to move 3 cent mail by air.

Three air-cargo carriers joined in the first-dlass mail experiment in

July 1955, on routes between Chicago, Washington, and Newark; Chicago and Newark; and New York City and Miami. In December San Francisco-

Seattle was added.

For the first time, air cargo carriers were authorized. to trans- port air mail in 1956 and temporary certificates were awarded four lines for carrying the mail over their entire system, which includes scme foreign as well as domestic routes. - 30

The highway post office was established in 1941, between Washington and Harrisonburg, Virginia. The highway post office uses a bus which

has been equipped so that mail can be sorted enroute. At first the

Post Office Department owned the vehicles but in November 1955 the last

one was contracted out. At the end of 1956 there were 154 of these

highway post offices in operation.

On July 1, 1956 the Post Office Department took over transportation

of mail from and to post office units located on military posts in the

United States, during peacetime.

Recording of transportation of mails should not omit some mention

of the volume carried by air. Alaska is almost entirely dependent upon

the Alaskan airlines for mail service and these lines are, in addition,

making a direct contribution to national defense in that area. During

fiscal year 1956 domestic air mail transportation carried 92,452,00

to-miles, and 52,840,536 ton-miles of foreign air mail was'flown, including 27, 635,947 ton-miles of military mail. Helicopters moved

91,000 ton-miles of mail in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York during 1956.

Two new services to post office patrons were inaugurated in 1955.

Certified mail was begun in June for the purpose of providing evidence of posting and delivery of mail having no intrinsic value. Restricted delivery (e.g. to addressee only) was added in July. During 1956 approximately 20 million pieces of mail were certified. Combination mail service was started in November 1955. This arrangement provides - 31 -

that more than one class of mail may be included in a single parcel

for posting by affixing to the outside, the proper postage for each

enclosure.

September 24, 1917 the Secretary of the Treasury autborised rural

carriers to issue and redeem "Thrift Stamps." These savings stamps were

also handled by the post offices and are still. Nearly all post

offices also carry internal revenue. stamps for sale to the public.

Another service is the sale of migratory bird stamps - sometimes known

as "duck stamps.

The post office was made a fiscal agent of the U. S. Treasury for

issue, delivery, safe-keeping and redemption or payment of United States

Bonds and Treasury Certificates. The sale and redemption of certificates

and of the various types of bonds, such as the early "Liberty or War"

bonds and the more recent U. S. Savings bonds, known as Series E, Bonds

are no longer handled by post offices except in communities where there

is no bank or other agency selling U. S. bonds. Sale discontinued in

1954. However, the savings stamps are still handled.

We have traced briefly the history and development of the postal

system, which in fiscal year 1956 handled 56 billion pieces of mail, about 338 for each person in the United States. Time and space limita-

tions ruled out many interesting sidelights, the mention of more than a very few of the personalities and philosophies associated with the development of this great service, as well as many details which ,are of interest.